Paper Bag Heroes
Samson Oklobia

This documentary project captures the work of the volunteers at The Pantry of Oxford, in Oxford, Mississippi. These volunteers are responsible for the sorting and packaging of donated groceries and food packages, and handing them over to the clients in paper bags twice every week. This project captures these volunteers in their natural space, putting all their effort into doing this every week. While some volunteers come in once in a while, this work focuses on the ones who are consistent at The Pantry, with some volunteers being with them since its inception in 1995.

Samson Oklobia is a storyteller with a background in filmmaking and television production. A graduate of Mass Communication from the prestigious University of Jos, he got his training as a Cinematographer and High-Def Filmmaker from PEFTI Film Institute, Lagos and New York Film Academy, Abu Dhabi, respectively.

As a student at the University of Jos, he was introduced to Theatre Arts as part of the curriculum, and he continued even after his undergrad studies, acting in different stage performances and even producing a few as well. He was a stage actor, with Jos Repertory Theatre, PAWS Studio and Theatre Emissary International, participating in numerous local and international theatre festivals. He also produced and directed an independent theatre production in Nigeria called Back to the Future. In his spare time, he loves to teach filmmaking and video editing, with some of his students going ahead to make a career for themselves as freelance videographers and editors.

He is also a Non-resident Research Associate at the Centre for Socially Engaged Theatre (C-SET), Canada and currently an MA student of Southern Studies, University of Mississippi. His long-term goal is to teach in the classroom the experiences he has gathered over his years of practice.